Denture or a dental plate

ABSTRACT

A denture or dental plate comprising a gum portion in which a plurality of teeth are mounted, with one or more of the teeth being provided with a laterally extending projection, such as the rounded head of a pin, to enable said head to be finger-engaged to facilitate the dislodgement and removal of the denture from within the mouth.

United States Patent Olsson [54] DENTURE OR A DENTAL PLATE [72] inventor: -Bruno Olsson, 85 Oxford PL, Staten island, NY. 10301 [22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 11,535

[52] U.S. Cl.... ..32/2 [51] Int. Cl ..A61c 13/00 [58] Field of Search ..32/218 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,008,028 11/1911 Gollobin et all "32/5 5] Feb.29,1972

1,105,476 7/1914 Withycombe .32/2X Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney-Joseph J. Juhass [57] ABSTRACT A denture or dental plate comprising a gum portion in which a plurality of teeth are mounted, with one or more of the teeth being provided with a laterally extending projection, such as the rounded head of a pin, to enable said head to be finger-engaged to facilitate the dislodgement and removal of the denture from within the mouth.

1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 29, 1972 FIG.1.

INVENTOR. Bruno L son 1 DENTURE OR A DENTAL PLATE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Dentures or dental plates as presently constructed make it necessary, when proceeding to remove the denture from the mouth, to reach the upper side of the denture and exert pressure thereon to release the suction that normally holds the denture in place. This requires considerable stretching of the mouth opening and moreover, the new user of a denture when the teeth have recently been extracted and the mouth and gums are tender due to the pressure of the plate, finds it often difficult to readily release the denture without causing discomfort and pain. Often long after the gums have healed and when the denture is retained in place by a denture adhesive, it is still difficult to readily engage the denture with a finger or finger nail to easily remove it.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a denture with means in the form of a smooth and rounded projection that extends laterally from one or more of the teeth of the denture, said projection constituting a means that can be engaged by a finger or finger nail and by the imposition of a pressure upon it the denture can be dislodged and easily removed from the mouth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a denture or dental plate constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of one of the teeth of the denture provided with the finger-engaging projection, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3- 3 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates generally an upper denture or dental plate of conventional form, composed of the gum portion 2 in which the teeth 3 are mounted in the usual manner.

Provided on at least one of the teeth and at the outer face thereof and preferably on a tooth that is located adjacent to or at the rear portion of the denture, is a smooth, rounded laterally extending protrusion or projection 4. This may be located on one of the rear teeth and is preferably so positioned that it will not be visible when the mouth is opened or when the wearer broadly smiles.

The projection 4 may be in the form of a metal pin 5 or a pin of other suitable material, having its shank 6 firmly anchored in the tooth and become for all intents and purposes an integral part of the tooth. The pin has its smoothly rounded head 7 exposed on the outer face of that tooth in which the pin is contained. This results in the production of an enlargement or projection that extends laterally from the tooth and is of sufficient extension therefrom to form a finger piece which can be engaged by a finger or fingernail and downward pressure exerted on it sufficient to break the suction between the denture and the gum of the wearer and thus dislodge the denture for its removal and cleaning.

The head 7 is preferably but not necessarily of circular and smooth, rounded formation so that any contact of it with the interior of the mouth will not be likely to cause uncomfortable irritation and resultant discomfort. The extent of its projection from the face of the tooth on which it is provided should be relatively small so that its presence in the mouth will not be apparent yet it will be of sufficient size to enable it to be easily engaged by a finger or finger nail and pressure exerted on it sufficient to dislodge the denture.

The location of the projection, at one side of the denture toward or at the rear thereof is such that the finger need not be inserted behind the denture but is merely placed alongside of it to reach and place the required pressure on the head 7.

While I have herein shown the projection as disposed on one of the rear teeth of the denture and at one side of the same, it will be apparent that it may, if found necessary or desirable, to be applied at both sides. Also while the projectron IS formed by means of an inserted pm, other means for producing a finger-engaging projection on the tooth of a denture is possible and is considered as being within the scope of the invention.

The improvements set forth herein are shown an described as being applied to an upper denture, but it will be apparent that the same may, if desired, be incorporated in a lower denture or possible applied to both upper and lower dentures.

It will also be apparent that while the projection is described as being substantially circular in shape and of smoothly rounded formation it may be of another shape and form, the optimum being the provision of a projection which will cause no irritation to the interior of the mouth while permitting ready engagement by a finger or fingernail to dislodge the denture. It is also possible to have the projection match the coloring of the tooth to which it is applied, thus rendering the projection visually unobtrusive.

What I claim is:

1. A denture comprising:

a. a plurality of teeth, and

b. an exposed projection fixedly attached to at least one tooth that is situated adjacent to the rear of the denture,

c. said projection comprising a pin having a head portion constituting a fixed finger-engaging lateral extension from the outer face of the tooth,

d. said pin being firmly anchored in the tooth and said head portion having a smoothly rounded configuration which extends outwardly from the tooth for a sufficient distance permitting it to serve as a finger piece for finger engagement,

e. whereby the denture may be dislodged from its operative position in the mouth when the projection receives pressure from finger engagement therewith.

mum; man 

1. A denture comprising: a. a plurality of teeth, and b. an exposed projection fixedly attached to at least one tooth that is situated adjacent to the rear of the denture, c. said projection comprising a pin having a head portion constituting a fixed finger-engaging lateral extension from the outer face of the tooth, d. said pin being firmly anchored in the tooth and said head portion having a smoothly rounded configuration which extends outwardly from the tooth for a sufficient distance permitting it to serve as a finger piece for finger engagement, e. whereby the denture may be dislodged from its operative position in the mouth when the projection receives pressure from finger engagement therewith. 